Americans have always had a fascination with the Australians. We know terms like “no worries” and “didgeridoo” (although the latter term probably can’t be identified by most Americans). But are we aware of what serious car-folks these blokes are? For Marti Auto Works, these hobbyists conduct more business with us than the CONTINENT of Europe. And when they visit our website, they spend more time there (I’m guessing the Brits would argue they are slow readers ).

Shelli and I have always wanted to visit Australia. The Mustang Club of Australia afforded us that opportunity last month. The Boss Nationals were held in Port McQuarie and they were Ace (excellent to USers)! Bernice and Sean McDonagh were our hosts and they are fair dinkum (look it up).  George Follmer, of Boss racing fame, was there as one of the speakers (yours truly being the other).

To start, I got the opportunity to put the stripes on a Boss 351 being readied for the show. You know the drill: car show in a couple days, many details still to be done, not enough time, no worries. Sean was up till the wee hours of the morning to get that Boss ready.

Sean and I were going to drive his 69 Boss 302 to the show. So after the Boss 351 was on the trailer and our group was packed and loaded, we got into his car. We drove about a mile two kilos down the road and smoke started coming out from under the dash. Yes, that dreaded pink resistor wire was going up in flames. Sean, ever the practical guy, decided to make a run for it back home. 100 KPH may not seem like much, but when its on a windy road, well, no offense Sean, but I’d rather have had George Follmer at the wheel!

Now, you’d probably rather watch something rather than read about it, so let’s start with this video (look carefully at the two Boss 302s):

Did you catch what was unusual about the Grabber Orange and Grabber Green Boss 302s? In the 20th Century, if you brought a left-hand drive vehicle into Australia, it had to be converted to right-hand drive to be legally registered for use on the road. The law has been changed so that’s no longer required (which is why Sean McDonagh, the driver of the Mustang I was in, sat in the left seat driving.

At the judging event, I saw as much attention to judging as an MCA event. And the cars were up to snuff to boot. Now that’s says more than you may realize. When a car is brought to Australia, there is a huge expense involved in putting it into a shipping container and boating it across the Pacific. Customs agents are so particular that you even have to have the container inspected for black widow spiders after arrival (black widows do not inhabit Australia and the Aussies are trying to keep it that way). After paying to get your vehicle onto Australian soil, you have to pay a duty tax, too. Further, though the U.S. and Australians dollars are almost at parity, products cost a lot more. I spent $4 to get a Coke at a store! So, to meet an Australian with a Mustang is to meet a serious, dedicated individual.

Serious Judging

Now when they do judging, they do it right. A lift and a creeper inside an air-conditioned Ford Dealer. And they did all the judging Saturday, gave out the awards Saturday night, then Sunday was a no-pressure show where everybody just enjoyed themselves. Yep, it was a fair suck of the sav!

Did I mention George Follmer was there? What a personable guy! I got to ride with him on the journey back to where we were staying. Five hours with a racing legend. Now watch George’s expression carefully in this next clip:

You’d probably think there’s something wrong with me though because we probably didn’t spend 1/2 an hour talking about cars and racing. No, George shared his wisdom of life, his affection for animals, and the great time he has with people. But he didn’t let me drive. I guess once a racer . . .

George Follmer and Kevin Marti Coming Back From the Aussie Boss Nationals

Enjoy the rest of the show. We did! (and get a load of the trophies – they are replicas of Rev Limiters; what a great idea)

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